


A common Place

by DerpyWritesStuff



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerpyWritesStuff/pseuds/DerpyWritesStuff
Summary: A story about young Jumin Han as his dreams give him some much needed rest from his life outside them.





	1. Ch.1

Everyone was kind to young Jumin Han, and if he was honest he somewhat hated it. Everyone tried to get on his good side whether it was the house staff, his tutor, his father’s business partners….or whatever woman his father had with him that week. Maybe that’s why Jumin valued sleep so much, since at least in his dreams there was somebody who treated them like they were normal. In his dreams, he was not the heir to one of Korea’s most prominent corporate companies but a person like any other, and he valuded that so much.

He was not sure when these dreams started, He just went to sleep after another long day of his father bringing  _another_ woman home, softly closing his eyes to hopefully numb a bit of that pain. When he opened his eyes he was on a cliff overlooking a city, half of it seemed like the Seoul he knew but the other half….he couldn’t place. There was a large tree near the edge of the cliff and he sat down beside it laying his head on the trunk as he watched the city below. It was a calming dream for sure, it was quite and the lights from the city glew softly amongst the soft purples and oranges that this dream’s sky consisted of. He was not sure how long he sat there for before he heard rustling on the other side of the tree trunk for a few seconds before the silence came back again. He thought for a second that it just might be the rustling of the leaves before he heard a soft sigh coming from the same direction he heard the rustling. “Hello?” Jumin asked as stoically as ever, he was intrigued by the sounds but also slightly annoyed that the silence was gone. He could hear more rustling from the other side of the trunk before a voice spoke up “Wha….uh hi?” The voice said confusedly. Now again silence struck but definitely more awkward than the peaceful silence of before. “So uh, are you just going to say hi and nothing else or do you want to have a conversation like a normal person?” The voice said with slight annoyance. Jumin was taken aback by this but continued, “I was not sure if I should continue. You seemed a bit shocked by my presence.” Jumin said matter of factly. The voice gave a huff before answering, “Well yeah, when your dream finally decides to throw a voice in for no reason it might just shock you.” there was a pause for a few seconds while Jumin was thinking of what to say before the voice continued “And did my dream have to pick a voice that is so boring it doesn’t know what to say after the word ‘hello’?” Jumin’s annoyance was creeping up on him, nobody had ever talked to him like that before and he was not sure how to handle this new situation. “Your dream?” Jumin started, “From what I recall I was here before you which would make this my dream would it not?” There was a few seconds of silence, Jumin felt proud that his logic was able to stop the voice before a soft muffled “asshole” could be heard. Jumin was not too accustomed to swearing being raised the way he was so his proudness turned to shock before saying “You know you shouldn’t be saying stuff like that, it’s rather uncouth.” Right after he said that, laughter could be heard from the other side of the tree. “Okay one, if you were not such an asshole, Mr. dream voice, I would not need to say it.” The voice started, “And two, who says ‘uncouth’ anymore? Rally voice?” It seemed that no matter what Jumin had to say the voice would make some form of snarky remark, the voice was rather…. particular to say the least. Soon enough though his eyes felt heavy and he let out a small yawn. “Ahh looks like you are about to wake up.” The voice said, unlike the other times it sounded soft….. sad? “I’m  _yawn_  waking up?” Jumin spoke softly trying his hardest to keep his eyes open, he really didn’t want to wake up. As much as this voice bugged him, he enjoyed the talking with his dream. “Yeah whenever I come here and I’m about to wake up in the real world, I get sleepy on this side.” The voice started before Jumin heard it gasp, “WAIT YOU’RE REAL? YOU’RE NOT JUST PART OF MY DREAM?” the voice screamed, honestly the sound would be enough to wake anybody up but Jumin’s eyes betrayed him. The last thing he was able to get out before closing them completely was a soft “Guess so”.


	2. Ch.2

Jumin sat up in his bed rubbing his eyes softly, ‘that had to be one of the weirdest dreams I have ever had’ Jumin thought. Jumin rarely ever dreamed, but when he did it was mostly about projects he would start once he was a bigger part of C&R. He had never had a dream like the one before, the voice’s soft laughter and snarky remarks filling his head again before shaking them away. “It was just a dream, nothing more.” Jumin said to himself with a sigh. Part of him wanted to meet that voice again, it may have been fake but it felt so real. Those last words the voice screamed sounded so shocked….so real, it gave him a bit of hope that maybe he would meet that voice again. He just hoped his theory was correct.

Jumin’s next few days repeated as they always do, breakfast, tutor, lunch, hanging out with his best  ~~and only true~~  friend V, dinner……and bed. Jumin was anxious, which he almost never felt, he was feeling stupid getting so worked up over what was nothing but a one time thing. He couldn’t help himself though, that voice was so different from everybody he had ever met in his life and he wanted to know more. So like he always did after that first dream Jumin got into bed, closed his eyes and hoped that the voice was waiting for him as much as he waited for them.

Jumin woke up against the tree he laid against before, gone was his bedroom and again replaced with the cliff and cityscape. He moved a bit to get into a more comfortable position before smiling to himself. “Ahh, the asshole is back.” a familiar voice spoke cheekily but with sincere happiness, “Well I guess since I got here first this time, I guess this is my dream now.” the voice added. Jumin could sense the smirk on the voices face before he replied. “I guess that is only fair since you are using my logic.” Jumin started, “However I would appreciate you calling me some other name than the one you are using now to describe me.” The voice’s soft laughter filled his ears again, and though he didn’t recall saying anything funny he did enjoy the sound. “Ahh right, too  _uncouth_  for you huh?” The voice joked, “Well if you want me to stop calling you that, give me a name to call you by.” Jumin did not wait a second before answering “Jumin” he stated, Jumin was never one to give out his name so excitedly but for whatever reason having this voice know his name felt special. “Might I ask what I should call you?” He continued, hoping to maybe get the same excited response he gave. For a few seconds there was silence and Jumin got worried. ‘Did they wake up?’ Jumin thought, before the voice spoke up. “MC” the voice said almost too quietly to hear. Jumin furrowed his brow a bit at how soft the answer came out, did he say something wrong? Jumin was not the best at comforting people, but hearing the normally boisterous voice become so timid over a small question wanted to make him try. “MC….is a nice name” He said as flatly as always. “Thanks…. Jumin” The voice replied slightly more upbeat. Jumin smiled at the fact that he was able to lift MC’s spirits even if he was just stating what he thought was the truth. “Hey can I ask you something Jumin?” MC said after a few seconds. “You may.” Jumin replied actual curiosity in his tone. “The city below us, how much of it do you know?” The voice asked. Jumin wondered why they asked that question out of the blue but he gave them an honest reply, “Well part of it is Seoul, but that’s all I can say. Why do you ask?” Jumin responded. MC took an audible deep breath before responding “For the longest time I thought I knew this dream like the back of my hand. Every time I came here it was just me, my thoughts and my hometown below me. It was a place I could run away to when things on the other side got too much. This was my hideaway from everything and everyone, yet the day you entered this dream that city changed. It merged what you know which what I know…maybe…. maybe this place knows you need a hideaway too.” MC said, the most serious Jumin had ever heard them. In a way Jumin knew MC was onto something, he hated having to deal with the woman and the fake smiles people gave him and here was different…she was different. “Maybe it was right.” Jumin finally responded but he did not get a response back. “MC?” Jumin called out but again he got no answer. Feeling a bit worried he decided to take a risk and go over to the other side of the tree to see if MC was okay but MC was not there, only an outline in the grass of where they sat down. They had woken up before getting a chance to say goodbye. Jumin wondered what caused them to wake up but he didn’t linger on it too long, if this dream happened twice now it would happen again. Jumin sat back on his side of the tree as sleepiness his own sleepiness took over, waiting for the night he can talk to his new  ~~friend~~ …acquaintance.


	3. Ch. 3

Mc woke up with a shock, one moment they were in their dreams and the next in their bed with a jolt. They sighed as they looked down to see the smashed vase and the creature beside it that looked all too happy with themselves.”Min-Ho…” Mc sighed softly “I was talking with somebody.” They finished as the cat jumped up on their bed. Soft purrs now filled the quiet space as Mc petted the small creature. “Min-Ho, I think I have finally found someone I can talk to…well somebody who can talk back to me.” Mc said giving the cat small chin scratches. After a few moments Mc got out of the bed and softly walked out of the room. ‘Good the sound didn’t wake anybody up’ Mc thought to themselves as they grabbed a broom and dustpan from the kitchen. As they turned around to go back to their room a small figure appeared in front of them making Mc squeak a bit. “Hehe, still as much of a scardy cat as ever Mc.” The figure in front of them said. “Chun Hei, what are you doing up, it’s too early!” Mc whisper yelled at their sister. “I heard a crash and my first thought was that you had something to do with it.” Chun Hei started “so a better question is what are you doing up this early, and with a broom no less.” Mc wondered where Chun Hei got her hyper aware hearing from, and why she always knew when Mc was in some form of trouble “Well I uh…just really wanted to clean?” ‘Smart Mc, that’s really going to blow over well’ they thought to themselves. “Oh really? Well if that’s the case can you clean my room too? I won’t tell that your cat broke something else in this house if you do!” Chun Hei said smiling ever so sweetly. Mc looked at them with a raised eyebrow. “You do know blackmail is illegal right?” Mc said mentally kicking themselves for sounding like Jumin for a sec. “And besides you love that cat as much as I do, if you are going to blackmail me do it right. You need to wager something I only care about.” …..yup they were definitely sounding like Jumin dammit. “fine be that way.” The younger girl said before walking back to her room a little stunned and defeated. Mc couldn’t keep the smile off their face as they walked back in their room to clean the mess up. Not once have they ever won one of those back and forths before, maybe their friend was good for more than just playful banter after all. Thinking back on their friend they sighed, with the vase breaking they didn’t really get a chance to say goodbye. Mc hoped he was not mad at them for it, he needed somebody to talk to just as much as they did….that’s why they were both there right? With a aggravated sigh Mc finished cleaning the mess and walked back out to the kitchen. They thought maybe starting the day would help clear their mind of last night’s talk. Mc opened the fridge to see what was there, skimming along the sparsely packed fridge Mc spotted some eggs and went from there. After the eggs were done Mc took out two glass plates and one paper plate to split the eggs three ways. Mc put the two glass plates on the table before taking the paper one and headed out the door, it was time to start another long day.

Mc soon made it to their job, opening the door to the fresh scent of flowers. “Oh hey Mc, you’re here early. Trying to escape the house that badly?’ Their co-worker asked. “Long morning.” Mc stated heading to the back of the shop. “Aww, don’t be like that Mc, I just wanted to talk.” The co-worker said from the doorway. Mc glared at him as they put headphones on “Don’t feel like it.” He sighed before heading back to the front “when do you ever?” ‘Were they being cruel to their co- worker? Probably.’ Mc thought as they rubbed their eyes. They brought out their sketchbook out as they started to draw new concepts for flower arrangements at the store. Mc may not have been the best at talking to people, either being to loud or too quiet but they could draw. Mc got hired right away even considering their young age and to be honest the work was fine. They liked drawing, it was a way to express themselves using no words at all. It was just the co-worker that bugged them. If he was not trying to talk to them every few hours, he was watching them work. Mc’s thoughts clouded their mind before their co-worker’s voice made them jump. “What the fuck?” Mc said as they ripped the headphones off. “Sorry, sorry, I forgot you were so jumpy.” The co-worker said with an apologetic face, “It’s just what you are drawing there is really nice, it’s just uh not work. I don’t want the boss to catch you slacking off.” Mc looked back at what they swore were more mindless flower drawings only to find a picture of their dream world and a person on either side of a tree. “Fuck” the muttered softly… they were in a little too deep for their own liking.


	4. Ch.4

It was late when Mc got home, not that they didn’t try to make it that way. All the lights were out so they used the light of their phone to walk to where they desperately wanted to get to. Snuggling deep into the covers of their bed they let sleep succumb them in hopes of going to the one place that truly gave them peace.

Mc’s eyes fluttered opened softly. They never could never get over the calming sight of the purples and oranges that sprinkled their view every time they came to this place. However the real reason for their joy of being here soon flooded back their mind as they asked the question they so desperately wanted an answer to, “Jumin, are you here?”, “Ahh Mc, you have arrived.” Jumin responded back. Mc smiled as they heard his voice “well of course, I had to make sure to thank you.” They said back to him. “Thank me?” Jumin started, “I don’t recall doing anything that required a thank you.” he said quizzingly. “Well okay, in a sense you didn’t do anything but being  _around_ you did something.” Mc started as they chuckled softly, “See there was a….discussion I had with somebody, and I think being around you helped me get the upper hand in it.” Mc smiled as they recalled the failed attempt at blackmail they won, though they would never call it that to Jumin. “I see, well I’m glad my presence helped you in some way.” Jumin responded smiling to himself. His smile turned into a small smirk shortly after, he knew how teasing Mc could be in their small time together so he thought he might as well give them a taste of their own medicine. “However I must ask to make sure I did indeed hear you right, you were thinking of me?” he would be lying if he said he did not think of them during the days after they talked in this little dream world but the opportunity to tease was too good to pass up. Mc’s face flushed pink at Jumin’s question and they were glad there was a huge tree between them. “Well.. uh yeah….just a bit though..it’s nothing like that, okay?!” they stuttered out as they heard Jumin chuckle from the other side of the tree. “Nothing like what?“ Jumin replied back almost too happily. “You know I could start calling you asshole again if I truly wanted to!” Mc quickly said only to make him chuckle more. “Calling the person you you just wanted to thank such a rude name may not be the best course of action” Jumin retorted, his smirk growing slightly with every word. He never showed much emotion when he was awake but here where nobody could see him he did. Mc brought so much joy out of him without even being able to see it or caring about who he was. He started to wonder how such a person could exist. “God, how are you so good at being snarky, it’s too much for your own good you know.” Mc huffed breaking him from his thoughts. “And you don’t think you are?” Jumin replied calmly enjoying this sudden back and forth. “Nah I know I’m snarky, I always have been. It’s just  _you_  are the king of snarky.” Mc replied with a small laugh equally enjoying the conversation. “I guess I can be okay with that.” Jumin said calmly. “I am glad you are okay though, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye last time.” He stated after a brief pause. “Aww, did you miss me  _that much_ ” Mc replied in a teasing tone, if he was going to be snarky with them he needed to know two could play at this game. Jumin tensed up for a second trying to think of a way to regain the upper hand “Just as you stated before, it’s nothing like that.” He said calmly. “Ahh I see.” Mc began smiling to themselves for a second before continuing, “Well you can blame my cat for that, they have a habit of finding things to break. This time the item just had to be in my room. Sorry I worried you, truly.” Mc finished. “There is no need for you to be sorry over your pet’s actions, there was nothing you could do to stop it. Though maybe you could  _yawn_ tell me more about them next time Mc, I am…highly…curious.” Jumin said sleepily. “Of course Jumin, but for now it seems you need to wake up. Have a good day…..I hope to see you again tomorrow.” Mc softly said as if any louder would ruin his peaceful awakening. “Yes as do I Mc… goodbye for now.” Jumin said just as softly due to his sleepy state, smiling contently. “Goodbye for now Jumin.”


	5. Ch. 5

Jumin woke up with a genuine smile on his face, it seemed like was the case after every dream that involved Mc. He sat up and stretched slightly before getting ready to head down to eat. The smile faded as the morning went on however as he remembered why the dream world was so much better than his real one. He made his way to the dining room as it seemed every member of his father’s staff asked him how his morning was with a  ~~fake~~  smile, how could he have known how good it was before it even started? As he walked into the dining room Jumin was taken aback slightly, it seemed that this was one of the rare days his father was actually there in the morning. Jumin normally ate by himself most days, not that he minded, he loved his father but if he was here that could only mean a couple of things and one of those he dreaded.

“Ahh Jumin, there you are, how did you sleep?” His father asked as Jumin was seated at the table. “Hello father, I slept well.” Jumin responded thinking of the wonderful dreams he had been experiencing. “That’s good to hear, your mother and I were thinking of spending lunch together today. We would like you to come.” Jumin tensed at his father’s statement as he sat in silence. ‘mother’ he thought to himself as his lips fell into a straight tight line. She was not his mother but his stepmother, but even that name was still too good for her. To Jumin she was just another woman, and one who his father could not seem to see that she was more interested in Jumin than him. Jumin was good at avoiding these meetings usually tagging along with Jihyun on his free days as he slowly built his photography portfolio, but he had no excuse to get away from this one. Jumin’s father cleared his throat before breaking the silence that Jumin would not care to break himself. “I know your day is free, and I know that you know how important family is. I’m going to go to work now but I expect you to be there on time. You are getting older now Jumin, and soon you will be taking a bigger role in C&R. Don’t let the differences with your mother get in the way of that.” With that his father left, Jumin’s food was brought to him. Even if the food was made by a five star chef all Jumin could do was just push the food around with his fork. God how he wished to go back to bed, leave whatever the day offered him and run back to his hiding place of a dream world. He sighed to himself knowing that could not be the case, and if he could the chances of Mc being there would be slim at best. Without eating a single bite of food and fists clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white, Jumin coldly told the staff he was done and walked back to his room to prepare for lunch. Once he got back to his room behind closed doors he slumped onto his desk his head in his hands. “Why…why is he such an a….asshole.” Was the only thing he could mutter out. He knew it was wrong to say such rude things, especially about his father, but for now it felt right.


	6. Ch.6

Jumin took one final breath before opening the door of his bedroom. He had locked himself inside for the entirety of that morning and refused to let anybody in. He walked out as stoically as he did every morning burying all of his emotions inside from the moment he walked out. He made his way to his private car and the smiling face of Driver Kim was there to greet him. “Hello, sir” Driver Kim spoke as he opened the door for Jumin, making sure that he was comfortable before getting into the front of the car himself. Jumin stared out the window as he was driven to his dreaded destination, he watched as buildings swept by in a soft blur and for once he hoped for there to be traffic. To Jumin’s dismay his wish had not been granted, and soon enough he walked inside the grand restaurant his father had reserved. As Jumin was lead to the table his stomach turned at the sight of his stepmother seated there and the sick feeling only got worse the closer he got to her. Jumin was good at keeping his figurative mask on however so pushing the sick feeling down he finally made it to the table he greeted both cordially.”I’m glad you made it on time Jumin, thank you for coming.” Jumin’s father said to him smiling. Inside Jumin hated how his father made it sound like he was given a choice to be here when they both knew he had forced him into this lunch, but on the outside with his blank expression all he said was, Of course, father, I am happy to be here.” Right after he spoke to his father, the voice he never wanted to hear speak started talking, the one of his stepmother. “Oh Jumin, I’m glad you could be here too! It’s been so long since you and I had any bonding time so let’s make the most of this, okay?” Her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Jumin as he just gave her a blank stare and a curt, but fake, nod. ‘Words are too good for her’ he thought, and he refused to speak with her unless it became absolutely necessary. Soon their waiter arrived and took their order, Jumin noting how his stepmother ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. Not that his father would care that she did, even if this woman was a leech, she could never suck him dry of his money. Sometimes Jumin wished she would suck them dry, sure he would lose his lifestyle and lose the opportunity being able to own anything he could ever want but maybe his father would finally open his eyes to see her for what she truly was. As Jumin sat there watching his father and stepmother talk he noticed how she kept glancing at him, again his stomach turned as he knew what she wanted. Jumin was almost going to excuse himself to collect his thoughts before his father spoke up again, “Jumin I have two wonderful pieces of news I want you to hear.” Jumin’s father started catching Jumin’s full attention, “First, I think it’s time I give you a department in C&R. You are old enough to be apart of our business on a bigger scale, and I think that you and I need to start working closer together.” Jumin’s eyes started to sparkle slightly, almost forgetting his queasiness that his stepmother made him have. “Thank you father, I’m very excited to start working for you. I already have ideas for projects I think will help C&R expand.” Jumin spoke with a little more excitement than his usual tone he used with his father. Jumin’s father let out a hearty chuckle “I would expect nothing less from you son, I knew you would make a good businessman from the moment you were born.” Jumin would have almost smiled at his father’s words if it was not for what he said next. “Oh yes, and for the second piece of good news. Your mother here has decided to move in next week so she can be closer with us. We plan to have her fully moved in by the end of the week, so we can both look forward to her being around more.” ‘No’ Jumin thought to himself, out of anything his father could have done, why this? He knew was his stepmother’s idea, the smirk on her face and the lust in her eyes told him so. He wanted to scream at his father for being so blind, for having so much faith in a woman like her. His father would never believe him though, he never had. So with the knot forming around his heart by invisible threads he could feel but not see, Jumin spoke with his mask held firmly in place. “I see” was all Jumin said as their food was brought out for the three to eat. 


	7. Ch.7

As Jumin went into his bed that night, he felt…empty. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep, not even wanting to see his dream world by this point, he didn’t know if he could face Mc right now. He just wanted nothingness in its purest form, nothing to see, nor hear, nor feel, just…nothing. Of course the dream world seemed to have other plans for the Han because as soon as he closed his eyes, he opened them back up to the twilight covered city.

He had sat and stayed silent for a long period of time before he heard a sigh on the other side of the tree. “What’s taking him so damn long?” Mc’s voice started on the side of the tree “He wanted to hear about my cat so goddamn much last night, now he can’t even go to sleep at a normal time.” Still Jumin remained silent, not sure if he should speak or really what the right words would be. How would he react if they asked him how his day was? Would he lie to them? Could he lie to them? There were so many variables outside of his control that his head began to ache, not knowing that was even possible in a dream. Hoping to maybe help dull his newly formed headache, Jumin tried to quietly move to lay down on the grass besides the tree instead of sitting up against it. Of course the small shuffling noises caught the attention of Mc, who had been intently listening for any sound to indicate Jumin did indeed show up. “Jumin, that you?” Mc asked excitedly as they waited for a response. All Jumin could give however was a sigh as confirmation, knowing he was caught. Mc’s brows knitted in worry, sure Jumin had always been kind of closed off but he never once sighed at them as a greeting. “Jumin…is everything alright?” Mc asked, concern evident in their voice. Jumin frowned as Mc said the one question Jumin didn’t want to hear, the one he didn’t want to have to lie to. “I’m fine Mc.” Jumin spoke in a flat voice. He was anything but though, and if Mc could see his face they would be able to tell in a second. His brows knit and eyes glossy as Jumin tried to cover up his feelings with a mask that always crumbled while in the dreamworld. Jumin’s attempt failed though, as even without seeing his face, Mc could tell something was wrong. Mc and Jumin may not have known a lot about each other personally, but Mc knew the Jumin from this dreamworld, and this was not him. “You’re lying, I can tell.” Mc said confidently, even more concerned than before. After hearing their words, Jumin brought his hand up to his temple and rubbed gently, hoping to dull a bit of the pounding in his head. Why were they concerned about him? Mc didn’t know about his fame or wealth. They wouldn’t want anything from him when they didn’t know what he had to offer. So why did they still sound like they wanted him to be okay? Why did they sound so truthful? “How can you tell? Why do you care?” Jumin finally asked, before Jumin told Mc anything about his day, about him, he wanted…needed to know why Mc did what they did. Without missing a beat Mc responded,“I can tell because I know you, at least enough about you to tell when you are bullshitting me. And honestly do you really need to ask why I care Jumin? You’re my friend. You may not see me as yours, but you are mine.” There was a thick silence that hung in the air for a few minutes before Jumin’s words tumbled from his mouth.“I see…Mc…I’m…not doing well…and I don’t know what… to do.” Mc took a deep breath of their own after hearing Jumin’s words, it was hard hearing the normally prim and proper Jumin sound so broken. Voice a little shaky Mc spoke again “Do you want to talk about it with me? I can maybe help you figure some things out…after all, that’s what friends are for.” Jumin sat up again slowly ‘friends’ he repeated internally as he rose. Was that what they were? Mc’s intentions did seem true, there was nothing for them to gain by lying to him. “I…I do…want to talk.” It was dangerous telling Mc even a little about his life. He didn’t want things to change between them, but he also didn’t want to keep all this in. He needed to talk, and he just hopped Mc didn’t change after they knew more about him.


End file.
